Manchester City legend Yaya Toure is ‘one step away’ from his first job as a manager, a move that would continue his nomadic career path.
The 43-year-old hung up his boots in 2019 and has been coaching since, but has not taken a top job, instead working as an assistant or at academy level.
His coaching career so far has seen him work in Ukraine and Russia, before a stint in the Tottenham academy, then moving to Belgium with Standard Liege, followed by the Saudi Arabia national team.
The 101-cap Ivory Coast international is reportedly set to continue his travels, with his next stop being in Slovakia.
The countdown is on
Our seven-day guide to the World Cup is live. 48 teams, 104 games, 1104 players – we’ve got everything you need to know. Sign up now.
Spanish publication Marca report that Toure is ‘one step away’ from being the next head coach at Slovan Bratislava.
Former manager Vladimir Weiss has stepped down from the role after five years in charge to take the Slovakia job again, having previously managed his country from 2008-12.
Slovan Bratislava have been the dominant force in Slovakia for a long time, winning the last eight top division titles.
Europe has proved very difficult for the Slovakian side, though, last season losing in Champions League qualifying, then in a Europa League qualifying play-off, before competing in the Conference League group stage. There they finished 29th out of the 36 teams in the league phase.
They did come through qualifying to reach the Champions League group stage in 2024/25, though, beating Midtjylland in a play-off to do so.
The group stage did not go well for them, losing all eight of their games and finishing 35th in the table.
Toure recently told the High Performance Podcast that he was looking to take the step up to being a manager and did not see himself as doing so in the Premier League just yet.
‘Some people are asking if I want to manage Premier League,’ he said. I said, no, I don’t see myself in that way. I see myself in development. I need to learn, I need to develop, I need to try.
‘I’m a man who loves challenging himself, I’ve been blessed playing football at a high level, with top clubs and top players.
‘Now I’m looking for going into management, I’ve been assistant for a few years with different clubs, different managers. Now I’m looking to become a manager.’
Slovakian outlet Sport reported last month that four other candidates are in the running for the Slovan Bratislava job with Toure: Albert Riera, Igor Biscan, Nenad Bjelica and Vladan Milojevic